Roof retractable type vehicles in which a roof can be stored in a vehicle body to form an open-top state are of two types: a hard-top type in which the roof is stored in the vehicle body by being divided and a soft-top type in which the roof is stored by being folded. In a vehicle of this type, a tonneau cover is used for closing a roof storage area at the rear of a seat both when an open-top state is formed by storing the roof and when a closed-top state is formed by spreading out the roof.
As the tonneau cover, a manual tonneau cover of a detachable type or a roll type that is opened and closed by a manual operation (for example, refer to JP 2005-254912 A), an automatic tonneau cover that is driven in association with a roof storage mechanism, or the like is used. The manual tonneau cover has problems of low operability, bad appearance, and the like. As the automatic tonneau cover, a type in which a vehicle that stores the roof in a trunk is equipped with a tonneau cover system mounted on a trunk lid, and a tonneau cover appears from the raised trunk lid, a type in which a special-purpose lid is provided, a type in which separate covers appear when the roof is opened and closed (refer to JP 2004-291696 A), a type in which the cover is slid along a slide rail by being folded around the axis in the vehicle width direction (refer to JP 2005-231460 A and JP 2006-015893 A), and the like are publicly known. The automatic tonneau covers of all of these types have a problem in that the construction is complicated and a large number of parts are needed, which requires a high manufacturing cost. Further, the automatic tonneau covers of all of these types also have a problem in that a large-scale driving mechanism is required and therefore a dead space increases.